Darlington Farmers Auction Mart held their weekly sale of cast cattle store and breeding stock on Monday 31st October 2022. Forward were 460 cattle and 1992 sheep.
121 Cast Cows & OTM sold to 238ppk or £1793
9 Stock Bulls sold to 214ppk or £1942
35 Breeding Cattle sold to £2600
51 Young Bulls sold to £1510
99 Store Steers sold to £1520
145 Store Heifers sold to £1420
1879 Store Lambs sold to £107.50
113 Feeding Ewes sold to £106
Cast Cattle (130) – No Halloween nightmares in the cow ring as once again a full parliament of buyers ensured a superb trade, less meat forward on the whole as the autumn visibly takes its toll on the older girls, the average of 156ppk would in real terms be up on the week. Top price per kilo was anything but short of flesh as a wonderfully finished 6-year-old Limousin from regular supporter T W Clark & Son, Frankland Farm, Durham sold for 238 pence per kilo; four other cows sold north of 200 pence including two more from Frankland Farm, a remarkable 12-year-old from J L Marks, Bishopton and a meaty Hereford OTM from L W Martin, Commondale. Top gross valued cow was an absolute tank of a Charolais from Ouston Farms Ltd, Ravensworth Park weighing 934kg and selling for £1793; close behind at £1650 came a Limousin from J S Foster & Son, Bowes with the aforementioned Frankland Farm girls next nearest. Fit Friesian’s from J T Forster & Son, Killerby led the dairy cow trade with a pair of gems selling to £1495 and 172 pence per kilo. Bull trade also excellent, top performers were a smart Limousin from B Watson, Baal Hill reaching 214ppk and £1940 and a gigantic 1214kg Charolais from Glaisdale based J B Thompson which sold for £1942.
Cast Cows & OTM Leading PPK – 238 210 206 T W Clark & Son. 214 194 176 L W Martin. 202 198(x2) 190 188 J L Marks. 198 Cowclose Farm. 194 B & J Bainbridge. 194 184 180 Hughes Bros Farms. 192 178 176 Ouston Farms. 188(x2) 184 180 178 176 Skelton Farming Ltd. 188 J S Foster & Son. 188 M Shaw. 186 P J Glass. 186 180 J J Horn. 186 G C & K J White & Son. 184 Tom Bell. 178 A W Sanderson. 178 Stainton Hill Farms. 176 J R & P Ward. 174 O M Wearmouth & Son.
Stock Bulls Leading PPK – 214 B Watson. 168 T H Richardson & Sons. 164 R E Shield. 160 J B Thompson. 146 J D Sanderson. 136 130 A Wilson. 120 R Stainthorpe.
Cast Cows & OTM Leading Gross – £1793 £1555 £1499 £1321 £1305 Ouston Farms Ltd. £1650 J S Foster & Son. £1570 £1562 £1324 T W Clark & Son. £1534 £1295 L W Martin. £1498 J Bowman. £1495 £1409 £1336 J T Forster & Son. £1493 £1446 £1357 £1252 £1232 Skelton Farming Ltd. £1484 P J Glass. £1427 B & J Bainbridge. £1395 £1379 £1362 £1344 £1310 J L Marks. £1378 £1211 J J Horn. £1331 Stainton Hill Farms. £1298 £1247 £1218 Hughes Bros Farms. £1281 A W Sanderson. £1276 J R & P Ward. £1275 O M Wearmouth & Son. £1261 R E & B J Potter. £1235 Little Newsham Farms. £1231 J Bowman. £1225 G C & K J White & Son. £1208 Tom Bell. £1205 A Wilson.
Stock Bulls Leading Gross – £1942 J B Thompson. £1940 B Watson. £1638 T H Richardson & Sons. £1502 J D Sanderson. £1487 R E Shield. £1179 £1082 A Wilson. £1110 R Stainthorpe.
Breeding Cattle – A nice offering of genuine breeders sold well; confidence growing by the day given that the winter feed supplies looked desperately low during the drought; a helping hand from Mother Nature lending us a mild autumn thus far is going some way to rectifying things. Superb Charolias heifers with Limousin crossed calves at foot from Ouston Farms Ltd, Ravensworth Park twice led the way when selling for £2600 whilst the same firm also impressed when they sold an in calf 40-month-old for £1500.
In Calf Cows/Heifers – £1500 £1350 Ouston Farms Ltd. £1220 £1100 W T Hall.
Cows/Heifers & Calves – £2600(x2) Ouston Farms Ltd. £1400 £1380 £1220 £1150 £1120 £1080 £1030 £1020 W T Hall. £1080 W M & D H Bussey.
Store Cattle – Some real strength forward this week following last week’s calf show and sale, the buyers of short keep cattle then kicked on and a fine trade was witnessed, the big cattle certainly demanded the strongest trade. Topping at £1520 were a handsome pair of 18-month-old Hereford steers from B Cave, Whitehall Farm, Cottage; others from the same home sold well in the £1400’s. Top heifer was a beautiful British Blonde from G Beadle, Primrose Hill Farm when she sold for £1420, her closest challenger at £1400 came from J G Wilkinson & Son, West Side Farm with a smart Limousin. No doubting our top young bull this week as a brilliant 19-month-old Limousin from B Watson, Baal Hill Farm sold for £1510, as with the store cattle the bigger the bull the better the trade.
Store Bulls – £1510 B Watson. £1210 £1200 G Scott. £1090 T Ducker. £1080 F M Suddes. £920(x2) A P Taylor. £900(x2) £800 £770(x4) £710(x2) £705 £700(x6) A Renfrew. £840(x2) £835(x2) £775 W O Alderson. £835(x2) £780(x2) £755(x3) £735(x2) J A Birkbeck. £750 C Moffett.
Store Steers – £1520(x2) £1485 £1440(x3) £1215(x2) £1200 £1145(x2) B Cave. £1405 £1340 F Fabi. £1345 £1320 T Coulthard & Son. £1320(x2) £1275(x2) £1250(x3) £1195(x3) £1190(x5) J H Johnson. £1245 £1170 P T Stephenson & Son. £1175(x2) £1150 G L & M Steel. £1170 £1160 £1150 £1145 G Beadle. £1150 B & L Robson.
Store Heifers – £1420 G Beadle. £1400 £1250 J G Wilkinson & Son. £1355(x2) £1300 £1275(x2) £1155(x4) £1100(x2) B Cave. £1335 £1215 £1195 £1130 £1125 W A Wardman Ltd. £1270 £1110(x2) £1100 £1085 Raymond Storey. £1255 £1170 £1135 £1130 £1085 Hughes Bros Farms. £1235 A C Walton. £1200(x2) £1150 £1095(x2) W B Rutter & Sons. £1200 T Ducker. £1190 I Newton & Son. £1145 £1130(x2) R Errington & Son.
Store Sheep – No tricks just treats with numbers and trade remaining high, quality is now naturally poorer but pleasingly the slipping prime trade was in no way detrimental to today’s prices; fresh faces are appearing weekly to buy lambs for winter root crops and grasses. Five fabulous Beltex lambs from G W Dent, The Bungalow, Cockfield led the way when selling for an impressive £107.50, the next quality quintet from the same pen sold just a single bid behind them. Plenty of strong lambs sold north of £85 with good straight healthy long keep lambs typically £75 to £85; the store trade continues to look way ahead of the prime ring which itself currently demands only the very fittest.
Store Lambs
Beltex – £107.50 £107 £85 £79 G W Dent. £96.50 F Kearton. £89 T & R Dent. £83 G P Addison. £80 W Wearmouth & Son. £79.50 C J & J M Simpson.
Texel – £99.50 £81 F Hickson & Sons. £99 A F Smith. £98 £80 B Lowson. £96.50 £92 D & H M Hodgson. £95 £85 J L Alderson. £88 £80 G E Raw. £88 F Bainbridge. £86 M W Cook & Son. £86 D Wearmouth. £85.50 £83 £80 A & R Thompson. £85.50 G Parsons. £85 P Armstrong. £82 K Mowbray. £80.50 J R & L J Chapman. £80 F & A Gilchrist. £79.50 J D & M S Mortimer. £79 James Burns. £79 R W & C Spry. £79 L W Richardson. £79 A F Smith.
Suffolk – £91 £80 G W Dobson & Son. £82 J R & L J Chapman. £75 £74 K Mowbray.
Mule – £84.50 £68 W Wearmouth & Son. £78.50 £68 P Dent. £76 F Bainbridge. £76 £69.50 James Burns. £75 D Clarke. £70 L W Richardson.
Charollais – £82 W Wearmouth & Son. £80 T & R Dent. £74.50 J K Gill & Son.
Horned – £71 D Wearmouth. £62 S Hallam. £54 K Sayer.
Feeding Ewes – £106 C L Ianson. £100 C J & J M Simpson. £88 F Kearton. £85 £77 F Hickson & Sons. £84 T & R Dent. £82 B R & S Fell. £80 G H Lister. £78 £70 L D Laws. £75 K M Sayer.
